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How to bootstrap ESXi compute only node and connect to vSAN HCI Mesh?

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After documenting the process for bootstrapping vSAN Express Storage Architecture (ESA) using my Intel NUC 12 Pro, I was looking for an easier way to share my physical vSAN storage, which is powered by a single Supermicro E200-8D, to other physical ESXi hosts for testing purposes.

I had recently been playing with the vSAN HCI Mesh feature, which was launched back in 2020, as I was running out of spare NVMe devices when needing to test different physical hardware kits. While my use case for the storage is typically short lived, it means I do not have to play musical chairs with the limited number of NVMe devices I have installed in the various kits I have.

The vSphere UI in vCenter Server already provides a very simple workflow to mount a remote vSAN storage on an ESXi compute-only node, but I was also looking at this from a bootstrapping point of view and what if vCenter Server was not deployed or even available? Could I still make this work? After a bit of trial and error, I was able to figure out this can be accomplished by using a series of ESXCLI commands!

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Quick Tip - How to check if vSAN TRIM/UNMAP is enabled in VMware Cloud on AWS Cluster?

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While the original question was for checking whether a specific VMware Cloud on AWS (VMC-A) cluster has the vSAN TRIIM/UNMAP feature enabled, the solutions below is applicable to any recent vSAN 7.x or 8.x deployment. There are two ways you check, either using the vSphere UI by selecting the cluster and navigating to Configure->vSAN->Services and expanding the Advanced Options tile or simply leveraging PowerCLI and the vSAN API to retrieve the exact same information.

vSphere UI

vSAN API using PowerCLI

$clusterName = "Cluster-1"
$vsanConfigSystem = Get-VsanView -Id VsanVcClusterConfigSystem-vsan-cluster-config-system
$clusterMoRef = (Get-Cluster $clusterName).ExtensionData.MoRef
$vsanConfigSystem.VsanClusterGetConfig($clusterMoRef).unmapConfig

 

A first look at the new vSphere+ & vSAN+ Cloud Service

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vSphere+ and vSAN+ was just announced this week and if you have not heard the news, I recommend checking out this blog post (includes a nice video with testimonials from early customers and partners) that goes into greater details for the new vSphere+ and vSAN+ offering (hint, it is more than just a subscription). If you prefer audio, the Unexplored Territory crew also covered the vSphere+ and vSAN+ news in their latest podcast Episode #20.

I was also curious about how this new VMware Cloud service would work and rather than reading about it, I had the opportunity to kick the tires and I figure I might as well try it out on my own personal vSphere homelab!

Although I was using our Staging/Development environment for my setup as the new VMware Cloud service has not officially GA'ed, it should give folks an idea of what to expect. I also wanted to share some additional insights and considerations that I had came across for this upcoming new service.

UPDATE (07/25/22) - The free trial for the new vSphere+/vSAN+ service is now available, you can sign up for a 15 day trial at https://vmc.vmware.com/infrastructure/vsphere-plus/overview

Here is your 1st look at the new VMware Cloud vSphere+ and vSAN+ Service!

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